Communication technologies such as mobile terminals or mobile terminal programs that perform communication with apparatuses or devices having a reader/writer function for Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags are known. For example, in railway stations and the like, mechanisms are widely used in which an automatic ticket checking apparatus has a reader/writer function for RFID tags that contactlessly communicates with a user's Integrated Circuit (“IC”) card serving as a ticket or a commuter pass to provide entry/exit, billing, and settling. A user can also use a mobile terminal such as a smartphone having a function of an RFID tag, instead of an IC card. In this discussion, terms including an IC tag and a “wireless tag” are sometimes collectively referred to as an “RFID tag”.
A specific example of a mobile terminal technology is FeliCa® contactless RFID smart card technology described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-20780 available from Sony Corporation, 1-7-1 Konan, Minato-ku Tokyo Japan. In the FeliCa® technology, communication between a reader/writer device and an IC chip mounted in a user's mobile terminal having an RFID tag function is controlled by respective control programs on the reader/writer device and the IC chip (these programs are sometimes represented by “FeliCa® programs”). The FeliCa® technology reader/writer device can be installed for example in an automatic ticket checking apparatus or a cash register in a store such as a convenience store. Examples of technologies having mechanisms similar to those in the FeliCa® technology include Mifare® contactless RFID smart card technology available from NXP B.V., High Tech Campus 60, Eindhoven, Netherlands 5656AG. In this discussion, the term “FeliCa®” is used to include the Mifare® contactless RFID smart card technology and the Mifare® control programs, unless specifically stated otherwise.
In the FeliCa® technology, a reader/writer having the FeliCa® program installed therein performs a sequence of RFID tag capture, exclusive communication, and authentication to determine whether or not the RFID tag has been authorized in advance. In the sequence of RFID tag capture and exclusive communication, the reader/writer device sends identification information such as ID information to the RFID tag, and the RFID tag responds to the reader/writer device when the RFID tag has identical identification information such as the ID information. It is therefore necessary for the RFID tag to store in advance identification information indicated by a reader/writer device with which the RFID tag wishes to communicate.
A mutual authentication sequence is also provided for communication that requires higher security, such as communication for billing and settling. In the mutual authentication sequence, the reader/writer device makes an inquiry to the RFID tag about identification information and determines whether or not the identification information matches identification information stored in advance in an apparatus or system including the reader/writer device. If a match is found, the reader/writer device further transmits identification information of the reader/writer device to cause the RFID tag to determine whether or not the identification information matches identification information set in advance in the RFID tag. Note that this communication is subjected to encryption processing. The reader/writer device decides whether or not the RFID tag is the one with which communication is allowed, from the mutual authentication result, and performs communication of necessary information with the RFID tag only when the RFID tag is authorized. Hence, to communicate necessary information, the RFID tag and the apparatus or system with the reader/writer device need to have pre-registration of a partner's identification information, such as ID information or an authentication key.
For the reasons described above, a user who possesses a mobile terminal including the FeliCa® program is required to grasp in advance information indicating which reader/writer device the mobile terminal of the user supports; that is, information indicating with which reader/writer device the RFID tag included in the mobile terminal is authorized to communicate. In some cases, the user is required to distinguish which of the functions of the RFID tag to use depending on the reader/writer device to be used.
For example, before railway carrier companies in Japan gave permission for interchangeable use of IC card tickets, users were required to use railway companies' own IC card tickets. To address such necessity, railway companies took measures to enable interchangeable use of IC card tickets, such as by adding, to a program for reader/writer devices in its automatic ticket checking machines or for its automatic ticket checking systems, a program for permitting use of other companies' IC card tickets; that is, RFID tags (or such as adding identification information or authentication information). Accordingly, in Japan users can currently use almost all the domestic railway companies with a single IC card ticket.
To realize interchangeable use, however, as described above, railway companies are required to add in advance, to reader/writer devices or automatic ticket checking systems, a program for approving other companies' RFID tags. Additionally, even if the program for approval is added, the same RFID tag is not available during, for example, travel across a number of railway companies (or geographic service areas), which may even at present require a user to still buy an ticket(s) to board a train(s) of such railway companies (or service areas).
In this respect, public transportation such as railway is typically operated by a substantially limited number of carriers, and there are almost no new carrier entrants or exits. Carriers add a program for providing capabilities to support RFID tags of other carriers (types) or register information such as identification information/authentication information to its reader/writer devices, systems, and the like in advance to comparatively easily support use of a number of types of RFID tags.
However, as use of RFID tags proliferates it is anticipated that users will possess various types of RFID tags, including those of companies other than railway companies. With use of increasingly greater number of RFID tags it is difficult for companies to have performed in advance operations, such as including in reader/writer devices or systems respective programs or identification information/authentication information which corresponds to various types of RFID tags possessed by numerous unspecified users in addition to the limited number of carriers.
Currently, railway companies and other companies make their applications public on their web sites and the like for allowing RFID tags in mobile terminals to communicate with reader/writer devices of such companies. Mobile terminal users are able to obtain and use the applications by, for example, downloading the applications; however, it is difficult to acquire and distinguishably use respective applications corresponding to a number of types of reader/writer devices, and it is actually impossible to obtain in advance all applications corresponding to numerous unspecified reader/writer devices of various types and to distinguishably use the applications. Even at present, reader/writer devices of carrier businesses are capable of basically communicating only with limited types of RFID tags, which thus results in having a limited range of uses thus thereby not being versatile in use. There occurs a problem in that expensive equipment might not be effectively used and the equipment remains prevalent only across large-scale carriers.
In this regard, consider for example not only RFID tags based on the FeliCa® program or Mifare® program but also the Host Card Emulation (HCE) function of the Android® Operating System (OS) on smartphones available from Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway Mountain View Calif. 94043. This is likewise not versatile in use, since the HCE function is also based on the Mifare® program and has a similar authentication function. The same applies to communication programs for a passive RFID tag and a reader/writer device of a medium-range communication type that uses Ultra High Frequency (UHF) waves.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a mobile terminal having an RFID tag function that is capable of communicating with a number of types of reader/writer devices including control programs having a function of identifying or authenticating an RFID tag, a mobile terminal program used in the mobile terminal, and a checkpoint management system and method that use the mobile terminal and the mobile terminal program.